Chapter 28

Kat had barely laid her head down to sleep, or so it seemed, when there was a pounding on her hotel room door. Looking up at the time display on the ceiling, it had been almost five hours since she had collapsed into bed. Another spate of pounding on her door made her groan and lurch to her feet. Palming one of her knives and activating the view screen that allowed her to see who was pounding, she stared at the picture for a moment, confused.

Standing outside her hotel room door, looking very annoyed, was Bob. Bob, in a suit.

Kat opened the door and stood there, clad in shorts and a rather skimpy t-shirt, and glared at Bob. "What the hell are you doing here?

Bob, turning pink in the face, turned around and faced the hallway. "Would you put some damned clothes on?"

Kat looked down at herself, confused, and realized Bob was embarrassed. Bob the Marine, the combat vet; the man she had seen snap a guy's neck like he was twisting the cork on a bottle of champagne, was bothered by her state of dress.

Kat burst out laughing. She grabbed Bob's shoulder and gave him a hug, which made Bob sputter and Kat break out in gales of laughter. She dragged Bob into the room and pointed to a chair. Grabbing her bag, she headed into the fresher to get dressed.

Several minutes later, after a hasty shower and a change of clothes, Kat exited the fresher to see that Bob had ordered Kafe and some sweet rolls. He was seated, with his feet up, on a pair of chairs he had moved over by the window. The weather outside looked dreadful, cold and blustery.

When Bob heard Kat moving around, he climbed to his feet and poured a cup of steaming Kafe for Kat and handed her a plate with a selection of pastry. "Better eat something now; we don't have a lot of time."

Kat accepted the cup, but turned her nose up at the food. "Want to clue me in on what the hell is going on here?"

"I called Jim, um, Chief, after we got back. Filled him in on what happened. I knew that he would want to hear first-hand."

Kat was smiling, shaking her head. Evidently the old-boys network was alive and well.

Bob, ignoring her, continued. "He said it sounded like the job wasn't done and told me that I had been drafted. I thought he was just pulling my good leg, but an hour later I had an encrypted message from him with a non-disclosure form and a contract that had to be signed and returned. There was a very nice wire transfer and instructions to report to a lady named Minerva over at the Urban Renewal building. This Minerva lady, who looked a lot like the woman who married a crotchety old navy chief I used to know, told me to roust you out of bed and tell you to shag your behind over to the port by 0500."

Bob looked pleased with himself, straightening his jacket, patting the lapels.

Kat sipped her coffee and stared at Bob, still smiling. "You look quite handsome in that suit, Bob. I am sure that Minerva can find you an equally handsome desk to sit behind."

Bob looked offended, and thrust out his chin. "Not bloody likely. Chief said I was to look after you and I can't do that behind a damned desk, now can I?"

Arriving at the port a half-hour later, they were met by one of Minerva's suits and led into a private charter office.

"Ah, all rested I hope?" Minerva looked as cheerful and alert as ever, despite have had as little, or less sleep, than Kat had managed. "Good, because we have a shuttle to catch and I was certain you would want to come along."

While Kat had slept, the technical folks had positively identified the large ship that had pulled out of Aste's orbit so stealthily. It was a retired Union Navy Cruiser that had been sold as outdated and excess to the Navy's needs more than twenty years before. The new buyer had gutted her and outfitted her as a space-going yacht. Several years later, facing financial difficulties, it had been sold again, this time to a mega-corp, Union Assets Holding Corp, in the Pon-La system to be used as a VIP transport.

Financial analysts had been combing through the records of the LeMare Mining and Processing Company, Limited. They had conclusively shown that the primary shareholder for in the LMP partnership was a shell company owned through a chain of subsidiaries by the same mega-corp who bought the ship.

The ship was currently in orbit around Chonwei in the Pon-La system, about four days travel by a fast ship, and they were going after her.

The ship they boarded for transit to Pon-La was a Union courier ship. It was basically a small Patrol ship intended for intra-system work into which had been shoehorned a Cruiser's power plant. Its power to mass ratio meant that it could out-accelerate almost anything in space. The transit time was a startling two and a half days, probably a good thing, considering the limited space available for passengers.

The courier had a crew of four, and space for two more people to be transported comfortably. It was often used to move commanders from site to site during an incident, or to transport diplomats from place to place. This time, the courier had to transport Minerva, her two guards, Kat and Bob and quarters were very tight.

On arrival in the Pon La system, they were met by the Union Light Cruiser UNS Liberator and a pair of Destroyers, the UNS Reynolds and the UNS Latorre, who were in the system as part of a standard tour of the sector. They had been diverted from their route and ordered to a spot on the outskirts of, and beyond the sensor nets around, the inhabited systems. The outer sensor net, used to monitor traffic in that sphere of space, was under control of the Union forces and all reports on the arrival of the courier ship had been intercepted before they were transmitted to the station on Wontai.

A shuttle was dispatched and Minerva's team transferred to the Cruiser, much to the relief of all parties involved. The life support system on the courier was set up for less than half the number it had to deal with on the trip and the air was starting to get just a little ripe.

They were met in the shuttle bay by a very nervous looking Lieutenant Junior Grade, who didn't look old enough to shave, and a pair of senior noncoms. Non-commissioned officers were the senior enlisted ranks, the backbone of any military service. Officers gave the orders, even baby-faced kids fresh out of the Military Academy like the JG, and the noncoms were the ones who made sure it got done, done right, and done on time.

The JG stood at rigid attention and saluted Minerva as she came down the steps from the shuttle to the docking bay deck, even though she was not in uniform or, for that matter, in the military.

Minerva, taking it in stride, offered the boy her hand. The JG, flustered and turning bright red, stammered, "Welcome aboard Ma'am. Ma'am, the Captain sends his regrets, but since he was told that he could not officially be aware of your presence or your activities aboard this ship, that it would be better if he could say he had never met you or spoken to you."

Minerva took the message in stride and smiled at the man, trying to put him at ease. "Quite all right, Lieutenant. I completely understand and I am sure he left me in quite capable hands."

The JG relaxed, just a trifle and managed a shaky smile. "I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Carver, Ma'am, and I will be your liaison officer. These men are Master Gunnery Sergeant Murtoc and Bosun Acuna; they will take care of you from here. If there is anything you need that they cannot get, please feel free to contact me at any time."